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Lance Hornby, QMI Agency

May 16, 2014

, Last Updated: 3:01 PM ET

MONTREAL - Having Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the dressing room means nothing if the team can’t win.

So the Pittsburgh Penguins are cashing in general manager Ray Shero and putting head coach Dan Bylsma and his assistants under the microscope after a Game 7 home loss to the New York Rangers became the latest example of the talented team’s failure to win big playoff games.

It was earlier reported by multiple media outlets that both would be fired, but the club announced it will conduct an evaluation of the coaching staff when a new GM is hired.

Pittsburgh seemed to be poised for a long run as a serious Cup contender after Shero and Bylsma were on the masthead for the 2009 title. But for the past five seasons, a lower-seeded team toppled them and the Rangers had seemed ripe for the picking this time.

In his six years with the team, Bylsma never had a winning percentage below .600 and won the Jack Adams as coach of the year in 2011. He came to the job as a replacement for Michel Therrien and would have faced him in the Eastern final starting here on Saturday had Pittsburgh beaten New York.

Shero was on the job eight years and made the Cup final twice. But there has been increasing evidence the two principal stars Crosby and Malkin have not performed to full effectiveness for whatever reason. Marc-Andre Fleury has also struggled in goal at times and big trades haven’t panned out. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle have taken note and a major shake-up was expected. No clear-cut favourite for either job has emerged.